Family Adventures

The past two weeks have been quite an adventure! Corbin got to spend a lot of time with his Aunt Carrie and cousins, Payton and Reese! Corbin got to watch fireworks that Boompa set off. (my Dad LOVES doing fireworks!) Corbin was not scared of them at all!

Corbin also got to go to Chuck E. Cheese! Daddy even got to go because it was right next to National Instrument! Yay!

Our little man is REALLY wanting to crawl as well! Every time we put him on the floor he starts doing the "military crawl" on his tummy and he scoots up with his feet. He can get pretty far doing that! He can even get on his knees for a minute but once he tries to move forward he falls forward. My family thinks he will be crawling within the next month or so. My life will never be the same again! I really won't be able to get anything done around the house and will have to watch Corbin like a hawk!

"Oh, Mom, but I really want to crawl! I guess I will settle for the "military crawl" right now!"

"Wow Mommy, I love those bright colors and loud noises!"

Carrie and Reese watching the fireworks!

Two cuties playing dress up!

I couldn't resist taking a family portrait
Corbin can ALMOST sit up by himself!

"My Corbim" (Reese loves "her Corbim"She loved holding him and didn't want to let him go! ")
"Aunt Carrie this place is crazy! There is SO much to look at! "


Payton with Chuck E. Cheese!
"Thank you Daddy for coming to see me during your lunch break!"
"Love you!"
Boompa and Corbin
Mimi and Corbin

Corbin = Jason 2.0?

So I've had many people tell me how much they think Corbin looks like me, and seeing baby pictures of me definitely lends some credence to that notion... Here's a couple photos of me from when I was a baby:

My mom has a few other pictures of me that look to be the spitting image of Corbin... But from what my mom's told me of when I was a baby, Corbin's personality seems to come completely from MacKenzie (he's a very cuddly, happy baby, and loves baths!) :)

To daycare we will go...

Today the daycare called to confirm Corbin's starting date for next year. I purposely didn't answer the phone and let the machine get it because I wanted to confirm with my mom and Jason's step-mom Kathy to see if they were going to watch Corbin next year. Which was the plan.
As it turns out, which I understand, having family watch Corbin is too much of a commitment. He will be going to daycare across the street from the school I work at, which I am happy about because I will be able to run over there if there are any problems. I never went to daycare, so I am having a hard time with this. Ultimately I would love to be a stay at home mom, but financially it would be a huge blow to Jason and my lifestyle and we would really have to cut back. We could do it but then we would be in our current house for a very long time. Hopefully someday I will be able to stay at home and raise our children. Definitely this summer is seriously is making me want to stay home full time with Corbin. I LOVE being with our little guy all day!

Jason, Corbin, and I all appreciate the love and caring Corbin received when I went back to work last year. Thank you to my mom, Wendy, Niki, and Kathy and Jim for watching Corbin. We love and appreciate you all so much. We are blessed to have a wonderful family. Thank you!


Happy 5th birthday to Payton! I hope you have a wonderful birthday today! Love you!

Where is Daddy?

Looking back through our family blog I realized there aren't any pictures of Jason on here! Corbin and I started feeling really bad about it! We love you Daddy!

This blog is a tribute to a wonderful husband and father! I love you Jason! Your my best friend and the love of my life. I couldn't have gotten this far without your love and support. You are amazing.

Once upon a time:

Our first Valentine's Day, February 2004

In the beginning, two people fell in love! (thanks to my Dad, Jason's Mom, Carrie and Payton!)

Then got married. November 19, 2005

Who wanted a baby! Five months pregnant

Jason and I smiling while I was in labor! Never felt a contraction!


Our first family picture! February 12, 2008

Daddy and Corbin "male-bonding" minutes after being born.

Sleeping in the hospital. My boys look so precious!

About to head home after a week of staying in the hospital.

Daddy and Corbin cuddling in Corbin's room! (which he never uses!)

My handsome boys!

Corbin's first bottle!

"Daddy, I am sick of looking at that camera!"

Playing with Daddy on the floor!

Humm, we spend far to much time on our brown couch! "Don't you think, Daddy?"

"See, I can hold myself up! Daddy, aren't you proud?"

My first time swimming! It was fun. Thanks, Dad.

New discoveries and old friends

Corbin has discovered many new things recently. Dr. Aiello put Corbin on rice cereal at his fourth month appointment last week to see if it would help him sleep through the night. He still doesn't have the whole eating solids thing down yet. He still grimaces every time you feed him. And let me tell you the rice cereal does taste awful. I had some on my finger and licked it off thinking "Oh my son eats it why not?" It was the most gross thing! It tasted like paste! We got his first solid food experience on video but have yet to capture any of the agony on camera yet.

Four month Doctors appointment stats:

Corbin weighs 15 lbs even and is 24 7/8" long. Dr. Aiello gave him an A+! Daddy came to the appointment too because Corbin had to get his 4 month shots and Mommy can't bare to be there alone seeing him cry so hard! I feel so helpless.

"Eww, Mom what do you expect me to do with this stuff?"

Last week Corbin really discovered his voice and is making all sorts of noises all the time now. It is so cute. He entertains himself in the car. Its just so cute to hear his little ramblings. Wish I knew what he was saying! His shirt says Noise Maker! Thanks Kathy and Grandpa for the cute shirt!

Corbin also has discovered his feet! He really enjoys grabbing and playing with them. "Oh what are these things and they are attached to me? What am I supposed to do with them?" (I have been slacking on the picture taking... I need to get one with him playing with his feet!)

Friday night Jason and I were able to go on a date thanks to E-ma (Jason's moms name for grandma) watching Corbin. We saw the Incredible Hulk. Which was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. It was nice although the theater we went to was kinda ghetto!

I didn't realize that before we left and I took the picture below how true the statement on his shirt would be. When I had Jason call his mom after the movie to see how Corbin was she said he had been super fussy and cranky. I've started to supplement with a little bit of formula because my milk supply has really tanked since being home for the summer. Every time I try to pump, I practically get nothing, which is not good if we need someone to watch Corbin. Dr. Aiello informed me that I'm not producing any extra milk. So, I made a bottle with a little breast milk and mostly formula to take to Wendy (E-ma's) house. He did not like the formula at all! E-ma had to throw it out and make a breast milk bottle!

(I am happy to report, Wendy, that Corbin did take a bottle today while we were out with solely formula!)



Today, I went for coffee and lunch at Panera with my good friend, Mollie, whom I met my freshman year of college at St. Edwards. We lost touch when she moved to New York sophomore year to go to a music conservatory school, but through good old Facebook, we were able to reconnect. Mollie is expecting a baby in December so we had fun looking at a few baby stores as well! She finds out what she is having in the middle of July!

A year ago today....

Picture from a year ago today at Esters Follies. Me, My Mom, and my sisters, Carrie, and Merritt

I found out I was pregnant! When Corbin gets older I will have to tell him the story. Its actually quite funny. (Well in my opinion, anyway.)

My sisters Carrie and Merritt and I were going out to celebrate a late Mother's Day with our Mom. Carrie was in town with her girls for my Dad and Brenton's, our younger brother, party to celebrate them getting their black belts in karate. Anyways, well that night we went to Z'tejas on 6th street and then were going to go to Esters Follies. While at Z' Tejas we all ordered drinks. I got a yummy mojito and which I was excited about. Well when I took a sip I didn't want it at all. I told my mom and Carrie that and Carrie immediately chimes in "Oh, you must be pregnant!" Well I couldn't even imagine that. I just kept saying, "No, I am not. Carrie went on to tell me that when she was first pregnant with one of her girls she didn't want alcohol at all. (before she found out) I really wasn't having any symptoms of being pregnant at this time at all.

So we went on to Esters Follies and had a great time. My sisters and my mom all had a few drinks too many and kept telling me that I was not allowed to go home until we went out and got a pregnancy test. Well, i just kept saying "No, I am not pregnant!"

Well, I had to drive everyone home in my Mom's Toyota Sequoia, which is not a small car. Carrie then made me drive to Randall's and get a pregnancy test. Well, when we pulled into my parents house I had to drive the Sequoia into the garage. I was pretty nervous. I sometimes cannot be the best driver! Wouldn't you know that I scraped the side of the car into the side of the garage and ended up getting the car stuck because I was way too close to the side? I ran in almost crying and told my Mom and she said "Oh, MacKenzie you better be pregnant or Dad is going to be mad!" She then backed the car up and put it safely into the garage. We then ran and got the magic erasers and my sisters, Mom, and I got the paint off the car. Even my four year old niece Payton helped get the paint off at 11:00 pm at night!

Well, needless to say I saw two pink lines on the pregnancy test. When I came out with a huge smile on my face, my sisters and my Mom started screaming, they were so excited. I then called Jason with my family still screaming in th background. He was at his Dad's house watching a movie. I was still in total shock seeing the two lines and bashing my parents car into the side of the garage! I ran and told my dad, who was sleeping, and then told him about the car. I was so happy that he did not want to kill me. I felt awful!

Looking back I am happy I have a (what is now) funny story to tell Corbin when he gets older when I found out I was pregnant with him. Its also amazing to me that now Jason and I have this wonderful four month old boy who is so perfect and the love of our lives!

Oh by the way, my sister Carrie is having a GIRL! So Morgan Mckinnley will make her debut in late October/early November! I can't wait to meet little "Morgan Sunflower", as her sister Payton wants her to be named!

Reflections

Summer has officially begun! My last official day was last Thursday! I have successfully completed my first year of teaching. Reflecting on my first year of teaching, I know there are things that I still need to learn. This summer one of my goals is I need to find a good resource and/or trainings on how to effectively teach students with disabilities. I just feel that I need more in my teaching bag of tricks. I really enjoyed my first year teaching even if it came with a few trials. I strongly believe those trials have helped me become a better teacher.

My sister Carrie, my niece Payton, and Corbin when he was three weeks old!

Look at that cutie, Reese!

Moving on to more exciting news. My older sister, Carrie, is going to find out the sex of her baby tomorrow afternoon! Carrie and Jeff (bro in law) already have two beautiful daughters, Payton (almost 5), and Reese (2). I know that Carrie and Jeff are hoping for a little boy. But it would be really special this time around in my opinion, if Carrie had a girl. If they have a girl they are going to name her Morgan.

Some of you may not know that I was a twin. Morgan and I were born three months prematurely and had less than a 5 % chance of survival. Sadly, three weeks after she was born, Morgan passed away. My mom told me that her breathing tube had become clogged and after that Morgan was not the same. Her whole body would shake and my mom believes she might have had cerebral palsy resulting from the clogged breathing tube. I said that if I ever had a girl I would name her Morgan. However, since we have Corbin I thought having a Corbin and Morgan would be too similar. So, when Carrie called me to let me know she was pregnant and asked me if she could name a girl Morgan, I was more than happy to honor our sister's memory. I did tell Carrie at if I do have a girl, her middle name will be Morgan.

I would also love it if Carrie and Jeff lived in Texas because Corbin and this little one will only be like 9 months apart and I really don't have any "Mommy" friends and I would love to be able to experience all of this with my sister! They live in Kansas City, KS (where we grew up) so we don't get to see them very often. Although they will be here for the fourth of July! I cannot wait to see them!